Steve Hammons is the author of two novels about a U.S. Government and military joint-service research team investigating unusual phenomena. MISSION INTO LIGHT and the sequel LIGHT'S HAND introduce readers to the ten women and men of the "Joint Reconnaissance Study Group" and their exciting adventures exploring the unknown. Both novels are available from the Barnes & Noble Web site, bn.com, and other booksellers worldwide. visit Steve Hammon's website at jointreconstudygroup.blogspot.com/.

Human perception is related to a broad range of important endeavors in fields like health, media, national defense and many other areas.

New developments in human perception and consciousness have the potential to help us make progress on these and other fronts.

Perception is personal and also social. It affects families, communities, countries and the international community. Our perception and understanding of ourselves are key in the areas noted above, and in many other ways.

We can take a look a few examples to see how human perception affects progress in various activities and areas of interest.

HEALTH, HOLLYWOOD, DEFENSE

In the area of health, when well-known health and wellness expert and author Andrew Weil, M.D., appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" show on Sept. 10, he tried to apply his concepts of "integrative medicine" to the current national debate about health care.

Weil is the founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson. He also serves as a professor of medicine and public health.

Another example is the new movie MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. This film takes a look at innovative exploration of human consciousness within the U.S. military.

Although the movie and the book upon which it is based are reportedly slanted toward ridicule, many of these actual military and intelligence programs turned out to be quite valid and valuable. People who see the movie might become curious about these important and leading-edge efforts behind the scenes and explore them further.

As Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently noted, the perception of the U.S. internationally is an area of concern, despite recent progress. "Strategic communication" is directly linked to human perception.

In fact, in a paper for the Marine Corps War College some years ago, a Navy SEAL officer studying there noted that "transcendent warfare" may be a useful concept that optimizes forward-leaning research and activities in human perception and consciousness.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

When Dr. Weil was discussing his views of health with King on CNN, he noted the idea of integrative medicine. The concept of integrative medicine is similar to "alternative medicine" or "complementary medicine."

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